Ninety One days in towards debt freedom and my plan to get out of debt if my math is right.
Day 90 actually happened yesterday when I was waxing poetic about George Clooney and Bank of Montreal Credit Cards you lucky devils.
So. 90 days eh? I’ve been writing about something related to my debt or progress towards debt freedom, or sometimes you’ve just had to suffer through me rambling on about gosh knows what. But I’ve stuck to this, which is really amazing, and it’s easy to get frustrated with the progress of my debt reduction, but you know what? In reality I’ve made some headway not only with debt but a whole bunch of other stuff. Let’s recap shall we?
- Number 1 has to be the fact that I knocked off 10k off of the BMO Mastercard thanks to a little help from dear old dad. 6 grand or so , and that monkey is off my back.
- I’ve managed to pay off about another thousand on my own accord with the BMO Mastercard.
- I’ve kept the balance the same with the RBC Classic Visa, even though I still use it a touch for web hosting payments. The first is the Mastercard, then the RBC Visa.
- I created a resume
- I applied for a job. Talk about a small miracle. (didn’t get it, but that’s OK – I conquered the fear of applying.)
- I resurrected two websites from the brink of death, am adding new content and they’re starting to see a touch of income. Two bucks yesterday (hey, don’t laugh – it’s a start)
- I taught myself SEO, or at least the basics. Best part: I learned it for free. The takeaway : links are the new currency, and Google knows all.
- I have come to the conclusion that this site is FUN. The debt isn’t but the writing sure is. My George Clooney bit yesterday was a whole lot of fun to both write and read. There’s been days when this little blog has kept me sane. Really.
- I’ve come to realize that it’s the journey, not the destination. I’ve paid off student loans and other loans brefore. There’s no balloons or streamers, just one last payment and you’re done. Yes, life changes and you’re rid of the debt but it’s not like angels sing. Unlike when I have a latte – angels really do sing then.
- I’ve learned what I’ve spent my money on this past year. What I’d do over in a heartbeat, and what I’d wish I hadn’t.
- I’ve learned you can’t go back. The past is the past, and even if you’re still paying for it too bad. Work on the Now. Don’t worry about the future.
- Your debt doesn’t define you. You do. It sounds like a cheezy line in a movie but it’s true. You can do anything if you put your mind to it. Shit, look at me – I’m writing. for fun. Who knew?
- I’ve learned that I don’t have to write here every day. Sometimes ignorance is bliss. For both of us, dear reader.
There’s probably more, but that will have to do. I was going to write about some bad stuff, but there’s really only one – I’m still in debt so not really much point in making a list of the crappy stuff, eh? Life’s too short to remember the bad stuff.
Probably the biggest surprise for me is how much FUN this little corner of the internet is. I don’t care that this site doesn’t see any traffic yet – which is really suprising… other sites I’ve had have had more traffic from the search engines much sooner. I’ve got a half hearted attempt at a new memory site where I wrote 6 small articles about how to upgrade you memory in your iMac and that little site gets more traffic, and it may not be the most informative, but I’ve got 75+ articles here and I’ve rambled on for about 500 words at least with each and zilch, nada. Just as well, I suppose. Less people to embarrass myself in front of while I get my mojo figured out here.
So, I guess the biggest plus looking back 90 days has been what I learned. This site has changed so much since when I started. First, I was going to compare credit cards, but then realized that’s way too fiddly and was like real work, then I was going to sell an item on ebay every day and realized that was the same. It’s better to make a batch of items. The old 80/20 rule applies here. I can spend two hours wiht my ebay auctions and list everything at once and sell everything at once, rather than sell it piecemeal where you get nothing done because you’ve been to the post office 27 times that week.
And now this site is a diary where I have fun and just write. When I sit down, I have NO idea what I’m writing about (yeah, I know – it shows – big surprise eh?) but some days I have more fun and actually do create value. Some of the stories I’ve told are both fun, but make me realize that even the debt is a story I’m telling and that’s all a guy could ask.
If I weren’t in debt I’d have nothing to write about and wouldn’t have started this site/blog or whatever the heck it’s turned into. Sure, I’ve had my doubts and wondered what the heck I’m doing, but too late now.. The stories’ been told, so I might as well keep on telling it.
If you’re new here, stick around. I guarantee, there’s more fun ahead. If you’re a regular reader. Thank you for sticking with me.
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